Sisters
by sing-a-song-of-geekness
Summary: Jemma Simmons finds that she has a sister whenever she needs one.
1. Chapter 1

Jemma Simmons marveled at the sparkling stone that now adorned her ring finger. It was a really simple design, yet it captured their story perfectly. The thin white gold band which was studded with tiny glimmering diamonds lead to the large center stone, a two carat oval shaped brilliant cut diamond that was made out of a lock of Leo's hair. She and Leo had been visiting her parents when he proposed, and now they were on their way back to the base in a quinjet.

Jemma knew Daisy wouldn't be there. She hadn't been there in months, but with Bobbi gone, and with May's history with marriage, it was Daisy who Jemma wished she could talk to the most. During Daisy's time at Shield, she had become like a sister to Jemma, especially because she was an only child. Of course everyone else would be excited, but it just wouldn't be the same. Jemma needed to talk to her sister. Jemma's thoughts were interrupted when the quinjet landed with a thud in the base. Fitz turned to her excitedly.

"So are we going to tell them or are we going to let them figure it out?" he asked with a glimmer of mischief in his eye.

"It isn't like it will take them very long to figure out." Jemma said with a little eye-roll and a big smile. "They are all spies. It's their job to notice details." She continued.

"Well let's see how long it takes them anyways. My money's on two days" Fitz nodded in approval of his own statement.

"Two days? Fitz, they're bound to notice within the hour." She smiled and shrugged.

"How about this." He began a compromise.

"If I win, I get to live the fantasy..." He said this with a toothy grin, Jemma was well aware of what 'the fantasy' was. "… and if you win…?" Fitz trailed off to let Jemma decide on her own prize.

"I get a full body massage with kisses all over." Jemma declared.

"Deal" they shook on their bet in which they would both be winners either way it played out.

The door to the quinjet begain to open.

"Ready future Mrs. Fitz-Simmons?" Fitz asked as he stood up and turned toward the opening ramp.

"Ready future Mr. Fitz-Simmons." Simmons smiled brightly and stood up as well.

They walked together into the hangar. They were not, however, greeted by the welcoming party that they had expected. Instead they were surrounded by agents hustling to and fro. Suddenly a disheveled May emerged from the crowd and marched right up to the startled lovebirds.

"We have a superhuman alert. Coulson thinks it might be Daisy. You two with me. Mac and Coulson are meeting us there." May barked and walked onto the very quinjet that they had just emerged from.

She stomped up to the cockpit and dismissed the pilots that had brought the Bio-chem-tech duo back across the pond. She plopped herself into the pilot seat and began flicking assorted switches. The machine that had just powered down roared back to life and the ramp shut. Fitz sat back down and Simmons ran up to the cockpit.

"Where did the alert come from?" She asked with her heavy eyebrows lowered.

"Hell's Kitchen New York." May answered grimly.

"Oh…how fitting." Jemma gave one of her half nods that indicated she was slightly uncomfortable. It did make sense though. Since Daisy was now technically a vigilante, Hell's Kitchen would be the place to attract her. With the Devil, the Punisher, Jones, Cage and Elektra, Hell's Kitchen was quickly becoming the vigilante capitol of the world. After gathering this information Jemma went back over to where her new fiancé was sitting patiently. She sat beside him and took his hand. They entwined their fingers and Jemma again basked in the glory of the brilliant diamond, now contrasted with Leo's rough calloused fingers. She sat back and tried to relax. Totally unaware of what was ahead.

As they closed in on the location of the unknown superhuman they were able to notice that something wasn't right. The unknown was indeed a young woman, but it certainly wasn't Daisy. The girl's features could not be seen for red flashing lights surrounding her obscured them. She was merely a curvy silhouette against the darkness of the alleyway she was being backed down. As they got closer they realized that the girl was in trouble. She was surrounded by burly men, all of whom were armed with assorted makeshift weapons. Jemma was now standing at the exit of the quinjet. It was still hovering but May began to lower the ramp.

"Get them Jemma!" May shouted through the roar of the engine.

Jemma pulled an ICER out from under a seat and took aim. The ramp lowered just in time for Jemma to see one of the thugs delivering a lethal seeming blow to the girl's forehead with a crowbar. The girl crumpled to the ground and the other men attacked.

"We're still out of range May!" Jemma shouted as it occurred to her that the fate of this girl was unfolding before her eyes.

May responded and inched the quinjet backward as much as she could. Jemma's hair was whipping around her face and obscuring her vision, but she could see well enough and now she was almost in range. She stepped out onto the ramp. The harsh cold wind whipping at her even harder now. She was close enough. Jemma took aim once more and fired three precise shots. The thugs hit the pavement violently and Jemma could now see the girl clearly in the glow of the streetlights. She was covered in blood. Without hesitation, Jemma grabbed one of the med packs and shoved an auxiliary comm into her ear. She strapped on a belay and then ran to the edge of the ramp. With a click she was attached to the tether, and off she went. Sliding down through the buildings and landing mere feet from the scene. She unclipped and rushed to the girl's side. Soft moans were escaping the girl's lips. Jemma assessed the situation and pressed the button on her primitive comm.

"I need a gurney down here!" she shouted, her voice growing shaky as yet another life was put into her hands.

The girl was covered in random slashes from one of the thug's pocket knives. Jemma opened the med pack and began to wrap bandaging all over the girl in an attempt to quell the bleeding, even though she knew the girl would need stitches. In that time May was able to land the quinjet and the ramp was now flush with the pavement. As if on cue, Coulson and Mac ran up to the scene and retrieved a gurney from the quinjet. Mac lifted the girl onto it and Coulson secured the straps. Jemma wrapped her slender fingers around the bars of the gurney and wheeled it onto the aircraft. She placed the gurney in its designated spot. It clicked into place. Mac and Coulson, who had arrived there on foot, ran onto the quinjet and strapped themselves in.

"We'll drop her at the nearest hospital." Coulson stated as he walked up to the co-pilot seat and settled in.

"Sir, we can't. She's an enhanced. I recommend we take her to the base." Jemma said as she smoothed the girl's long dark hair away from her pail skin.

"What makes you think that she's enhanced?" Coulson furrowed his brow and craned his neck toward Simmons.

"When we first saw her she was producing what seemed to be red flashing lights?" Jemma said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Fair enough." Coulson turned back around in his seat. "To the base May."

Jemma looked at the girl again and noticed that she had a red purse draped over her shoulder.

Jemma reached into the purse and pulled out a black leather wallet with chains adorning it. She opened the snap and looked at the ID. Her heart began to race as she made the connection.

"Sir, I think you may want to see this."

Coulson obliged. He got up and padded over to where Jemma was standing.  
"Oh my god…" His voice grew soft as the realization hit him.

"What is it?" Fitz asked and ran over to look at what Coulson and Simmons were gawking at.

"Great god." He uttered as he saw what was making everyone so nervous.

In the ID window of the wallet was not a US ID, but a card that had a picture of the girl on the left. Directly next to her likeness were three lines of text that read in all caps,

'WANDA MAXIMOFF'

'AKA THE SCARLET WITCH'

'AVENGER'


	2. Chapter 2

Jemma carefully stitched up one of the many wounds. This one was just above the girl's prominent cheekbone. Startlingly close to her eye. This was the last of the cuts, but the apparent Avenger had yet to come to. She was already hooked up to a saline IV and she would be receiving donor blood in minutes. Her lips looked grey and Jemma was concerned.

"I need an MRI scan to assure that she didn't sustain any brain damage from the blow with the crowbar." Jemma called over her shoulder to the nurse behind her.

"Don't worry about a thing Jemma." Fitz ran up from within the lab grasping a small device.

"Bioscanner." He nodded at Jemma and held the device out.

"Right here." Jemma indicated the spot that needed to be scanned by hovering her hand over an area of the girl's forehead. Fitz scanned the spot and in a moment he had a three dimensional image of the girl's brain projecting out of the device. A sense of relief washed over Jemma as she saw that the girl had suffered no brain damage. Suddenly the girl began to move. She moaned and tears slipped down her cheeks. She slowly lifted her bandaged hand and placed her black polish clad fingers gingerly on her neck. She tapped at the spot while letting out small noises to indicate something was wrong. Jemma moved the girl's hair out of the way to find a startling bloody burn on the side of her neck.

"Oh! Oh my god." The words escaped Jemma's lips as she saw the horrific spot.

The poor girl continued to tap at her neck. Her moans growing more tortured and desperate. A thought suddenly occurred to Jemma.

"Fitz, hand me an alcohol swab!" Jemma looked up and stated urgently.

Fitz obliged and handed his fiancée a sealed swab. Jemma opened it and began to rub at the front of her patient's neck. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw that the girl's neck was covered with makeup to blend in an angry red cracking rash. Jemma delicately scrubbed off the rest of the makeup and then applied bacitracin to the area. After bandaging the girl's neck, she seemed to calm down. Jemma wondered to herself what could have caused the rash and the burn. She backed away and took a deep breath, trying to release the tension that had built up over the last hour. Fitz walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Go and take a break. I'll stay with her." Fitz assured Simmons. He knew that she liked to keep her patients under constant vigilance so he jumped in so that Jemma could take a minute. She had been working non-stop since they had found the girl.

"Thanks." The corners of her mouth pulled up slightly and she turned towards him. She wrapped him in a big hug and gave him a sweet little kiss.

Jemma returned about an hour later, she held a tray with two steaming mugs of tea, two sandwiches on French bread, and two blankets tucked under her arm. Wanda Maximoff had been moved to a separate room within the med-bay and was still unconscious. Fitz sat in the armchair adjacent to the bed as promised. Jemma carefully placed the tray on a small table that was between Fitz's chair and a little couch.

"Anything?" She asked Fitz hopefully while plopping one of the blankets down on the couch.

"Not really. She twitched a little and asked where her brother was…but I am pretty sure that's from the morphine." He shifted slightly while he gave the update.

"Yeah." Jemma nodded her head in agreement. She then took the remaining blanket and walked over to the sleeping Avenger. She examined her quickly and then began remove the blanket that was on her. After taking the pale hospital blue sheet, balling it up and tossing it into the corner with visible contempt, she unfolded the soft purple floral patterned blanket from her own room and spread it over the girl with a kind of care that Leo had never seen Jemma use before. She became aware that he was watching her.

"I hate those horrible hospital blankets." She said with a crinkle of her nose. Fitz simply nodded in agreement, although he wasn't quite sure why it was that she was taking so much interest in this girl.

Jemma walked back to the couch and took her spot, curled up right at the arm. She took up her mug of tea and sat back.

"Oh the sandwich!" Leo exclaimed, breaking the momentary silence with the realization that his favorite meal was sitting right beside him. He picked it up with both hands and took a minute to fully absorb its beauty.

"Prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella." He let the words slip out of his mouth in a dreamlike manner.

"With a hint of pesto aioli." Jemma added with a smile.

He grinned, closed his eyes, and then took a bite. Jemma took a small sip of her tea and then spoke.

"You hear about these people on the news. They are spoken about as if they are somehow in complete control of everything that happens in their vicinity…and they leave out the details." Jemma breathed a heavy sigh and then continued. "Did you know that she was born in 1997?" Jemma turned her head towards Leo, who could only respond with a pause and a solemn shake of the head because of his sandwich.

"I didn't either. It says on her ID card. I just assumed that she was our age, or the like…but she's just a kid." Jemma furrowed her brow and took a thoughtful sip of her tea.

"That means that she couldn't have been older than sixteen when she was taken by Hydra." Fitz said thoughtfully having finished the first half of his sandwich. He took a deep breath and then picked up his mug of tea.

"The poor lass." He knitted his brows together and took a careful sip.

They sat together in silence. Observing their patient, each contemplating quietly. Jemma wondered what Wanda was doing out all on her own, and what the rash and the burn came from. A thought occurred to Jemma when she realized that Wanda had not been in the public eye since the accords were being debated. A horrible suspicion formed in Jemma's mind and she shook it from her head, having felt guilty even thinking of it. After a moment she reached out and threaded her fingers through Leo's once more, enjoying the comfort that their connection provided. He responded by gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. She let out a yet another heavy sigh and tried to assure herself that this child soldier who had fallen into their lap was not, in fact, her responsibility. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that the girl had no one else. Why else would she be walking alone in the most crime ridden part of Hell's Kitchen?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there everyone. Sorry this update took so long. I have literally no excuses. I am posting this at nearly 2 AM so if there are mistakes have pity. I will reread and edit tomorrow, I am just anxious to put this chapter up. Please let me know what you think!**

"Wanda? Wanda Maximoff?" Jemma's English lilt felt awkward pronouncing the Eastern-European name.

"Ms. Maximoff?" she said again as the Scarlet Witch's eyes fluttered open. Jemma's shoulders slumped in relief as Wanda opened her eyes and looked around the medical room.

"Where am I?" Wanda asked, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

"We can't tell you exactly where you are but you are safe." Jemma tentatively seated herself at the foot of the hospital bed. Wanda looked around for a moment and then spoke.

"Is this S.H.I.E.L.D?" she asked, her suspicion growing slightly. Wanda's history with S.H.I.E.L.D occurred to Jemma and she spoke quickly.

"Yes, we are S.H.I.E.L.D, but we are good S.H.I.E.L.D…not Hydra. We are the good guys." Jemma fumbled through her words a little bit but gave a reassuring smile at the end of her sentence. Wanda looked slightly suspicious but then seemed to be at ease after a moment.

"I'm Doctor Jemma Simmons, and this is my associate and fiancé Doctor Leo Fitz." Jemma leaned forward so that Wanda would be able to see Fitz from where she was sitting. Fitz waved as he munched on the other half of his sandwich. At seeing this Wanda let out a little smile but quickly erased it.

"I'm Wanda Maximoff." She sat back, seeming a little upset as she spoke her own name. Suddenly a thought seemed to occur to her. She rustled with the blankets, somehow seeming hopeful. She pulled her left foot out from under the covers and then pulled off the thick hospital sock. Her face fell when she saw the upper inside of her heel.

"What is it?" Jemma was visibly worried and inched forward to try and see what it was that Wanda was dissatisfied with.

"Oh, It's nothing." Wanda pushed her foot forward so that Jemma could see what she was looking at. Jemma could now clearly see the small blue and white watercolor tattoo of a lightning bolt that sat just below Wanda's ankle bone on the soft part above her heel.

"I got that to remember my brother after he died." Wanda began to explain. "Sometimes if I wake up from something I wonder if I dreamt the whole thing. His death, becoming an avenger, and now the accords I guess. Sometimes it's a reminder for a good reason, sometimes for a bad reason."

Jemma nodded in understanding. Wanda looked over Jemma's shoulder and saw the sandwich sitting on the table next to the couch. Wanda's stomach rumbled loudly and she looked at the sandwich longingly. She then looked from the sandwich back to Jemma then back to the sandwich once more. She stuttered a little but then finally managed to get the words out.

"Can I have that sandwich?" Wanda asked sheepishly. Jemma smiled and nodded.

"Of course." Jemma walked over, picked up the plate, and then brought it over to Wanda. Without thought Wanda picked up the sandwich with her bandaged hands and took a giant bite. She nodded and expressed her enthusiasm with a slow "Mmmmmm."

Wanda finished the sandwich in a couple of minutes and then dusted the crumbs off of the gauze covering her hands.

"Did you make that?" Wanda asked Jemma, quite impressed. Jemma nodded her head with a little grin and then changed the subject.

"So now that you are awake I can ask you, is there anyone that we should contact about finding you?" Wanda's eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly.

"No! Please don't contact anyone." She looked frightened and Jemma was quite shocked by this reaction.

"Oh! Okay don't worry I won't!" Jemma exclaimed quickly trying to calm her patient and then furrowed her brows once again.

"Wanda?" Jemma got the girl's attention and then posed the question that had been gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Why were you walking alone in the most dangerous part of Hell's Kitchen?" Jemma asked, the concern in her voice thick.

"I ran away." Wanda's voice tightened when she spoke. Jemma immediately changed her facial expression to one of pure sympathy, but continued to probe.

"Why did you run away?" Jemma asked with her voice lowered slightly. Tears began to run down Wanda's stoic face. Jemma placed her hand on Wanda's shoulder, trying her best to comfort her. Jemma had never been very good at this part. The social sciences had always been a bit more of a mystery to her, thus she wasn't the most tactful of people. She silently wished that Daisy was here. She would know exactly what to do. About a minute later Wanda finally answered Jemma's question.

"I left because…" her voice trailed off and her face was now showing the pain that she truly felt. She let out a sloppy sob and then continued.

"I left because they betrayed me." As she spoke her hand slowly reached up to the dressed wound on the side of her neck. She looked down and tears dripped off of her dark eyelashes. Jemma's suspicions were close to being confirmed, she just did not want to admit it. She warily moved her hand from Wanda's shoulder to lift her narrow chin so that she could look her in the eyes.

"What did they do to you?" Jemma asked, the sting of tears now threatening behind her eyes as well. Her upset must have been detectable in her voice because merely seconds later she heard the thumping of Leo's heavy feet across the linoleum floor, and then the weight and heat of his calloused hand on her own shoulder.

"When we were in the raft…" Wanda paused again, trying to hold back the tears. She took a deep breath and then resumed.

"When they had us all locked up they treated me differently from everyone else." There was silence for a moment and then Wanda continued.

"They treated me like an animal. A monster. They tied me up, and put a shock collar on me." Jemma took in a sharp gasp at hearing this, but Wanda seemed determined now to finish her story.

"They would shock me for no reason. For fun. It was like they wanted to see me in pain. The others looked like they wanted to help, but they couldn't. Eventually Stark and the Vision came to break us out, and they did, but there was no sympathy. They were just acting as if nothing had happened…So I blew up."

Jemma was really confused now. "Blew up?" She asked, urging Wanda to elaborate.

Wanda breathed a heavy sigh and then began a slightly different story.

"You know the Spider-Man vigilante in New York?" She asked semi-rhetorically, Fitz and Simmons both nodded to indicate that she could go on.

"Well, Stark enlisted him to fight…This wouldn't be a problem… but during the fight I read his thoughts." Wanda had their full attention now. She looked to them to gauge whether she should keep going. Their faces were full of concern so she continued. "He is fifteen years old." She shook her head just thinking about it. "A child, and Stark used him as a soldier. Even worse, he was injured in the fight." After speaking these words, Wanda pouted heavily and gritted her teeth. Only shock could be read on the faces staring at her and listening intently.

"I never liked Stark but I didn't think that even he could sink that low." Her voice trembled and elevated as her anger became apparent.

"Before I ran away I screamed at him. For sticking his nose in affairs he has no business being a part of, for making it personal, for making it physical, for ruining the closest thing to family that I had left, and for blackmailing a child into doing his dirty-work." Wanda pouted again and shook her head.

"You want to know the worst part?" Wanda made eye-contact with the her now teary-eyed rescuer and then continued. "He just sat there and took it. I was ready for a fight and he just sat there nodding his head. So _I_ was the one left with a feeling of crushing guilt. The same guilt that should cripple _him every day_!" She took a deep breath and crossed her arms. "I went to Hell's Kitchen looking for a law firm called Nelson and Murdock. I'd heard that they take nearly every case, and that's what I needed if I was going to succeed against Tony Stark and the US Government but when I arrived I found that their firm had been dissolved. Hell's Kitchen is full of scum, that's how I ended up where you found me. I was chased there by the guys who did this." She gestured to one of the stitched up gashes.

Wanda sat back now. Having been able to vent her story to a friendly face, she felt the smallest bubble of hope rise in her chest. Jemma placed a hand gently on Wanda's shoulder once more and then gave small reassuring pats.

"You should get some rest. We will be right here if you need anything" She said nodding toward the area with the table and the couch.

Wanda nodded and then rested her head against the crunchy hospital pillow. Merely moments later her eyes had fluttered closed and her breathing became even and calm rather than the short jagged breaths that had afflicted her post-rant.

After sitting back down on the couch, Jemma retreated to her own thoughts once more. Here she was thinking that Wanda was a misused child, where Wanda was thinking the exact same thing about someone else. Jemma realized that Wanda may still technically be a teenager, but she was very grown up. She spoke with wisdom far beyond her years, and had an exceedingly in-tune moral compass. Jemma looked at the girl now as more of an equal rather than a beaten puppy. She was not unlike Daisy in a way.

Suddenly Jemma felt like she had received a punch to the gut at the thought of Daisy. Alone out there. Still missing. Jemma looked over to Fitz and took his hand. With a little pull she signaled for him to join her on the couch rather than on the chair. He obliged happily, coming over and squeezing between Jemma and the couch arm. She snuggled up to his chest feeling as though she wanted to say something but couldn't. After looking up to his face to see that his mouth hung open in a sort of pre-speaking posture, she could tell that he was feeling the same way. She briefly got up to turn out the light, and then returned to her spot beside her best friend and the love of her life. She pulled the extra blanket up and they both drifted to sleep to the sound of Wanda's rhythmic, relived, breathing.


End file.
